British Steel nationalistion 'will protect future generations'

Image source, Kevin Shoesmith/BBC Image caption, Retired British Steel worker Phil Tennyson pictured at Scunthorpe's Jubilee Park with wife Jenna and their granddaughter By Kevin Shoesmith in Scunthorpe Published 14 minutes ago Standing in Scunthorpe's Jubilee Park, Phil Tennyson points to the skyline and a cooling tower at British Steel, where he worked for 38 years. On a sunny afternoon, Phil and his wife, Jenna, have brought their two-year-old granddaughter to play. The drab, grey tower poking out above the treetops in the distance sits in contrast to the play equipment brought to life by primary colours. Phil is digesting the news that the British Steel has been nationalised; taken into public ownership in a move the government said would protect jobs and safeguard "a vital national capability". "It will help support the future for our children and our grandchildren," says Phil, pulling his granddaughter's floppy hat further down her face to protect it from the midday sun. "But I do think it should never have been privatised in the first place." Image source, PA Media Image caption, The site in Scunthorpe has been producing steel since 1890 Many in this Lincolnshire town welcome what they perceive to be a lifeline. "It's a mucky place and hard work," says Phil. "But those works have given a lot of people around here a good living over many, many years." Last year, the UK government took control of British Steel's operations in Scunthorpe, though it was still owned by China's Jingye Group. Nationalisation gives the government the power and freedom to decide on the future of the plant, while keeping its blast furnaces going. Phil, though pleased with the decision, is guarded. "I don't know how it's going to remain profitable when it's competing against cheaper, foreign steel," he says. "The industry is nothing like it was. Those days are gone. In the early 1970s, 22,000 people were employed in the works. Now, it's less than 3,000, although plenty of others in the supply chain, shops and so on rely on it." Image source, Kevin Shoesmith/BBC Image caption, Robert Smith says Scunthorpe "would be dead without its steelworks" Robert Smith, 61, who works in traffic management, says nationalisation of British Steel "had to be done". "We need British Steel for defence," he says. The government wanted to keep Scunthorpe's last two remaining blast furnaces open as they are the UK's last remaining source of "virgin", or new, steel directly produced from iron ore. If they closed, the UK would become the only member of the G7 group of leading economies without the ability to make it. Walking along a path in front of nearby Lincoln Gardens Primary School is Pat Stephenson, 83, and Brenda Ovenden, 72. Pat worked in the offices at the steelworks in the 1950s and 60s "I don't know if nationalising British Steel will work," she says. "Steel is still important to Scunthorpe but people have got used to it not being as big as it was." Image source, Getty Images Imag